MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The App State men's basketball team is set to open season No. 106 and season No. 7 of the
Dustin Kerns era when it travels to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a matchup with the Central Michigan Chippewas on Monday. This matchup marks the third year of the MAC-SBC Challenge, which was introduced before the 2023-24 season. Tip off from McGuirk Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers' season-opening contest at Central Michigan will mark the first time that they will open the season on the road since the 2021-22 season vs. Iona. The Mountaineers tallied a 5-8 record away from home in 2024-25. The last time App State won its road opener was when it beat Louisville back in 2022-23.
App State enters the 2025-26 campaign after posting a 17-14 record last season. This mark included a 10-8 record in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers own 114 wins since 2019, which marks the winningest six-year stretch in program history.
The Mountaineers have posted six straight seasons with a winning percentage of .500 or better. This is the first time in App State's Division I history (1972-Present) that it has seen six straight seasons of .500 or better basketball. The Mountaineers will look for their seventh straight winning season in 2025-26, something they haven't done since 1945-52 when they were an NAIA school.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Central Michigan
- Where: McGuirk Arena // Mount Pleasant, Mich.
- When: Monday, Nov. 3 // 7 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Adam Jaksa (PxP), Kyle Sandel (Color)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 950 AM/92.7 FM (Greensboro), 790 AM/93.7 FM (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Scouting the Mountaineers
The 2025-26 App State roster includes a mixture of seven returners and eight newcomers (three freshmen and five transfers). Highlighting the returning class is
Alonzo Dodd,
Luke Wilson and
Michael Marcus Jr. Dodd enters the 2025-26 season as the Mountaineers' leading returning scorer, while all three returners started at least one game last season.
Andrin Njock will also make his App State debut this season after redshirting last year. Njock competed for the Switzerland National Team at the FIBA U19 World Cup over the summer, helping guide it to a quarterfinal appearance.
App State's batch of five collegiate transfers includes
Eren Banks (Georgia Southern),
Kasen Jennings (South Florida),
Chad Moodie (Alabama A&M),
KJ Vasser (Moberly Area Community College) and
Jalen Tot (Montana State - Billings). Banks was named Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team on Oct. 20, while Jennings has NCAA Tournament experience with Kennesaw State in 2023. Moodie led the SWAC in blocks and blocks per game in 2024-25, and Vasser led the NJCAA in free-throw percentage last season at 94.3 percent. Tot enters the 2025-26 season with 1,678 career points and leads all active Mountaineers in assists (381), rebounds (393) and steals (235).
Defense continues to be App State's calling card as the Mountaineers paced the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense for the fourth consecutive season in 2024-25. App State allowed just 63.5 points per game, which placed it 12th nationally in that category. App State has finished in the top 50 nationally in scoring defense each year since 2020-21.
The 3-point shot became a major factor in the Mountaineers' offense in 2024-25. This development proved effective last season as App State buried 34.5 percent of its 3-pointers, good for the best mark in the Kerns era and tied for the fourth-highest clip in the Sun Belt. Last season, the Mountaineers made at least 10 3-pointers in 13 games, marking the most instances in a season since 2021-22. App State also totaled 11 games with at least a 40 percent 3-point field-goal percentage, recording a 10-1 record when doing so.
Scouting the Chippewas
Central Michigan enters the 2025-26 season coming off a 14-17 campaign last year, which included a 7-11 mark in MAC play. The Chippewas will be led by first-year head coach Andy Bronkema, who will make his Division I head coaching debut after spending the last 12 seasons at Division II Ferris State. Bronkema was a national champion at Ferris State in 2017-18 and coached the team to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Chippewas will welcome 12 transfers and three freshmen to the team this season. The team will feature three Division I transfers in Phat Phat Brooks (Michigan), Rodney Johnson Jr. (Tennessee Tech) and Keenan Garner (IU-Indy).
Central Michigan hung its hat on the defensive end of the ball last season as it finished second in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 72.2 points a game. The Chippewas showed the ability to turn their opponents over last season, as they finished 80th in the country in turnovers forced per game in 2024-25.
Series History
App State and Central Michigan will meet for just the second time on Monday, last meeting on Dec. 21, 1989. This will mark the Mountaineers' first trip to Mount Pleasant, Mich., as the two teams squared off at the Greater Youngstown Holiday Classic in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1989. The Chippewas took home a victory in that game, 77-69.
App State will look to win consecutive games in the MAC-SBC Challenge for the first time on Monday. The Mountaineers went 1-1 in the challenge last season, downing Ohio 72-59 in Athens in February and dropping a home contest vs. Miami (Ohio) to open the campaign. App State is 2-2 in the challenge's history, with the other win coming in double overtime vs. Toledo in the 2023-24 season.
Kerns has never faced the Chippewas in his coaching career, but his first game as App State's coach in 2019 came at Michigan, which is a little over two hours from Mount Pleasant. No player on the roster has played against Central Michigan in their career.
Next Up
Following action in Michigan, the Mountaineers will host the Carolina University Bruins in their home opener on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
